


Island Life.

by NagiMakoHaji



Series: Neo World Programmed [1]
Category: Dangan Ronpa, Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa: Another Episode, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Also theres only mentions of some characters because theyre either dead or they dont talk, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, But its basically a while after dr3, Dangan Ronpa & Super Dangan Ronpa 2 Spoilers, Dangan Ronpa 3 Spoilers, Gen, How Do I Tag, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Its never mentioned how long after dr3 this is, Memory Loss, So basically all of it, Some references to the dark part of the series, Spoilers, a lot of spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-29
Updated: 2017-01-29
Packaged: 2018-09-19 19:48:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,110
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9457910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NagiMakoHaji/pseuds/NagiMakoHaji
Summary: "'Hey, didn't you have friends before... Monokuma showed up?' He spat out the name as if it was poisoned.Naegi didn't blame him."In which someone suggests that Naegi should bring his classmates into the Neo World Program to live on the simulated Jabberwock Island.





	1. Introductions

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, people! This is my first fic on here, but not in general. I'm also writing this on my phone, so please forgive any mistakes made by either autocorrect or a mistake made by myself.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

It started out with a normal day at the Future Foundation Headquarters on Jabberwock Island.

 

Or at least, as normal as it could possibly be, with the fifteen Remnants roaming around.

 

Naegi was simply minding his own business, walking toward the room in the facility where his fifteen upperclassmen were currently housed.

 

The luckster stopped in the doorway, seeing the one closest to him was Hinata. He looked at his face, and saw that his heterochromatic eyes were staring out into the room, filled with slight amusement. To the right of the taller boy, Komaeda was leaning against the wall, gray eyes darting around the room. 

 

Before Naegi could make his presence known, someone called out to him, the sound bouncing off of the walls and ceiling. 

 

"Hey, Makoto-chan!" Mioda exclaimed, waving her arm in the air.

 

Similar greetings resounded around the group, Hinata turning to face him.

 

"So, what are you here for?" The taller asked. 

 

"Just stopping by for a bit." 

 

"Well, that's nice to know." Komaeda smiled from behind Hinata.

 

"Hey, Naegi." Hinata attracted his attention again. "Komaeda and I wanted to talk to you. Is that okay?"

 

The green-eyed boy nodded, seeing Hinata smile softly. The rest of the group had already returned to their own hobbies and activities, leaving Naegi to be grabbed by the wrist and half-dragged into another room.

 

"So, what did you need me for?" 

 

The other two glanced toward each other. Hinata was the first to speak up.

 

"Well, just to talk, I guess." The answer was short and simple, much to Naegi's confusion.

 

"Talk about what...?" He responded hesitantly.

 

Komaeda chuckled under his breath. "Calm down, Naegi-kun. We aren't going to ask you anything that would bend fate." 

 

Naegi laughed half-heartedly. "Right."

 

"Hey, didn't you have friends before... Monokuma showed up?" He spat out the name as if it were poisoned. 

 

Naegi didn't blame him.

 

"Well, yeah. I had other classmates. But, besides Kirigiri, Togami, Asahina, and Hagakure, they're all dead. It's kind of sad now that I'm thinking about it, but it's all in the past." He reported.

 

Hinata nodded, eyes partially out of focus.

 

Komaeda glanced at Hinata for a moment, then turned back to him with a kind smile. "Well, that can't be all you have to say about them."

 

"Well, there actually were some amusing similarities between them and you guys." Komaeda nodded, Hinata's eyes still distant. "For example, both groups had gang leaders. Kuzuryuu, of course, and Oowada Mondo, former leader of the largest biker gang in Japan. There was also Mioda, and Maizono Sayaka, the SHSL Idol. She was the leader of a girl's pop group before she came to Hope's Peak. And there's Owari and Nidai being so similar to Asahina and Oogami Sakura. Both pairs had strong connections with both each other and athletic stuff. That's all I can think of right now."

 

Hinata snapped out of his daze with his hand slamming against the table dividing them. His eyes were bright as he looked up to Naegi.

 

"I have an idea. But I need... three things from you." He said.

 

"What would that be?"

 

"I would need permission for two things and the other one is a physical item. Well, items." 

 

"Go on..."

 

"All I need is permission to access the code of the Neo World Program, permission to create some new Artificial Intelligence in the Program, and if you have it, the profiles of your classmates."

 

Naegi was taken back. "Wait, you really want to...?"

 

"You know I can do it."

 

"I know that, but are you sure? I mean, it would probably take a pretty big portion of your time."

 

"As long as I have those three things, I can definitely do it." 

 

Naegi sighed. "If you brought Nanami back, you can do this too. I'll get the profiles."

* * *

After what seemed like days of work and moral support from the group, Hinata's programming was successful.

 

Naegi was the first to be able to see if the new additions to the Program were functioning correctly. 

 

There wasn't anything to feel when going into the Neo World Program. To him, it was as if he had fallen asleep then woke up in a strange, tropical dream.

 

The first thing he saw was the clear blue sky, sun shining and ocean waves crashing up against the shore.

 

Then he heard a very familiar voice.

 

"Naegi-kun? What are you doing here?" He looked around before seeing the pink-haired girl. Nanami yawned, rubbing her eyes.

 

"Well, you might have already noticed, but we added some of my old classmates to the Program. I'm the first to see them, and I need to make sure they're working right."

 

Nanami nodded. "I saw one of them. I didn't talk to them, though."

 

"Well, do you know if Usami's approached them yet?"

 

"She hasn't... I think."

 

"Well, let's go find them. Come on." He motioned for her to follow him, leading the way to Jabberwock Park.

 

When they arrived, Naegi heard and saw nothing. 

 

"Huh... Usually they come to the park first, since it's the center of the central island... I think." Nanami commented.

 

"Well, that's what your classmates did. Then they parted ways, partially because they needed to explore the island and because Hinata-kun was still unconscious on the beach." He chuckled. 

 

She laughed. "It was nice."

 

Naegi was about to respond before a voice cut him off. " _Naegi-kun?!_ "

 

"Oh, hey, someone recognizes you." Nanami mentioned.

 

"Oh, really? I didn't notice." He laughed, turning toward the voice's source. He was met with the sight of none other than the former Moral Compass, accompanied by the former Biker Gang Leader. Ishimaru was the one who had yelled, apparently, as he looked shocked.

 

"Hi." Naegi greeted simply. 

 

"You look... different." Ishimaru commented, hand on his chin. 

 

_He isn't as... upright as usual. Maybe I could get Hinata to look at that._ He thought. "Well, I kind of... matured, since we last saw each other." He commented.

 

"Also, just a question - what happened? I thought that Kyoudai... died. I died." The black-haired boy asked.

 

"Well, this is called the Neo World Program. I'm Nanami Chiaki. Nice to meet you." The gamer introduced herself from Naegi's side.

 

"What?" Oowada asked, confused.

 

"Well, let's just say a lot happened after you guys died, and now it's been at least a year and a half." Another voice explained. Naegi turned to see Hinata himself.

 

Nanami gasped quietly, walking over to him. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders, burying his face in her hair.

 

"So, who's he?" Oowada asked.

 

"His name is Hinata Hajime. He and his classmates were put into this Program with their memories wiped, where the plan was to make the group get along and become... hopeful. That was ruined by  _someone_ , who put an AI of Enoshima into the Program, causing Monokuma to appear and the group to begin what he called the 'killing school trip.'" 

 

"Wait, Enoshima? As in Enoshima Junko?"

 

"Yes. She was the mastermind behind the deaths of you and our classmates, and it turns out she kind of caused the apocalypse." Naegi explained. "Her title was SHSL Despair, and she wasn't the only one." He added, glancing back at Hinata and Nanami. The taller of the two looked at him, and seemingly told Nanami to go over there with him. She complied, and the two joined the three's conversation.

 

"I'm Hinata Hajime. Pleased to meet you." The boy introduced himself. 

 

Oowada seemed to study him before speaking. "Is your eye okay?"

 

Ishimaru gasped. "You don't simply ask someone that!" He exclaimed, obviously preparing to scold him.

 

Hinata chuckled. "It's fine. Really, it is. You don't really see two eye colors every day." He added.

 

"So, were you just born with the red eye?" Oowada asked.

 

Hinata hesitated, glancing toward Naegi. The shorter quickly took their attention away from the subject. "So, have you two seen any of our other classmates?"

 

"Besides Kirigiri, Togami, Asahina, Hagakure, or Fukawa." Nanami added.

 

"Um, no. We haven't, actually..." Oowada replied, a suspicious tone entering his voice. 

 

"Well, let's go look for them." Naegi suggested.

 

"Hey, Naegi." Hinata said. "We're going to go look for Usami. She might have seen someone." 

 

Naegi nodded. "Try to go around the islands and find her and anyone else you can. We can meet back here."

 

"Or we could meet at Hotel Mirai." Nanami suggested.

 

"Okay, then. Hotel Mirai it is." He nodded, leaving the two to depart into the distance.

 

"Who's Usami?" 

* * *

Once Hinata and Nanami had made it to the fourth island, Hinata saw a small white figure.

 

"Nanami." He got her attention, pointing to the small shape.

 

"Usami!" She called. The rabbit spun around, lighting up when she saw the two. 

 

Usami rushed over to them, smiling brightly. "Hello, Nanami-san! Hello, Hinata-kun!" She greeted. 

 

"Hey, Usami. There's some new faces around the island. Have you seen any of them?" Hinata asked.

 

"I have, in fact! Three of them were near here, around the funhouse entrance!" 

 

Hinata's eyes widened. "The last time someone visited the funhouse, it didn't end well." He commented.

 

"Well, the rollercoaster isn't working, so they won't be able to go in there." 

 

"Good." He said, relieved. 

 

"Can you lead us to them?" Nanami asked.

 

"Of course!" She chirped.

 

The rabbit led the two to the rollercoaster, where three figures were standing around, seemingly lost.

 

"Hello!" Usami chirped a greeting. They looked toward the rabbit, then eyes began to look toward Hinata and Nanami.

 

"Who are you?" The first asked, voice heavily accented. Hinata recognized the girl as Celestia Ludenburg, the former SHSL Gambler. 

 

"I'm Nanami Chiaki. Nice to meet you."

 

"My name is Hinata Hajime. Pleased to meet you." 

 

"I am Magical Miracle Girl Usami!"

 

"Well, I am Celestia Ludenburg. But I prefer to be called Celes." The twin-drilled girl introduced.

 

"I'm Fujisaki Chihiro." The smaller girl introduced. "Nice to meet you."

 

"My name is Yamada Hifumi. Pleased to make your acquaintance." The third, a glasses-wearing boy, greeted.

 

"Well, apparently there are more people on its island that you might know. We're trying to find all of you and bring you to the central island. Can you come with us?" Usami asked politely.

 

The three agreed and followed them to the fifth island. There, they found a muscular girl named Oogami and a blue-haired girl named Maizono. The eight returned to the central island, where Hinata, Nanami, and Usami led the five to the Hotel Mirai.

 

"Is there anyone here? After all, this isnt all of our classmates." Maizono asked.

 

"Well, since we found most of you, I'm assuming that they're already here or on their way here." Hinata commented.

 

"Who?" Fujisaki asked.

 

"Hey, Hinata-kun! We found two, but the rest-" 

 

"The rest are with us! We also found Usami!" Hinata cut off the voice. 

 

Naegi came around the corner, with the rest of his classmates behind him.

 

"Naegi?!" Someone exclaimed from behind him. 

 

"That's my name." He responded. "So, you... eight have already met Nanami-san and Hinata-kun, right?"

 

"Wait... Hinata?" Someone from behind Naegi asked.

 

"Yes?" 

 

A figure stepped out from behind Naegi, freezing when she and Hinata met eyes.

 

"Ikusaba."

 

"Kamukura."

 

Naegi sighed. "This is what I worried about." He muttered.

 

"Huh? Ikusaba? Kamukura?" Maizono questioned.

 

"Okay, you two. All three of us know that those days are over. So you can stop being rivals and get along." Naegi attempted to get the two to stop staring each other down, ultimately failing.

 

"What did you do?" Ikusaba, still disguised as Enoshima, asked.

 

Hinata's eyes were cold. "She's dead. And for good reason." He said, turning to leave. 

 

Hinata left the hotel before Nanami and Usami rushed to follow him.

* * *

"What was that about?" Kuwata asked.

 

"Well, the Enoshima that we first met at Hope's Peak was not Enoshima. It was her twin sister, Ikusaba Mukuro, SHSL Soldier. The real Enoshima was the one behind the killing. The one controlling Monokuma." Naegi explained.

 

"And what about Hinata?"

 

"Hinata... He was a student of Hope's Peak. However, he was part of the Reserve Course." He continued. "He had no talent, until the school offered him a chance to have talent. Enough talent to be called 'SHSL Hope'. His name became Kamukura Izuru, and soon, the title of SHSL Hope became SHSL Despair, under the influence of Enoshima. 

 

"As Kamukura, he was bored of the world. There was nothing he couldn't do. There wasn't anything to bring him hope, as he was seen as hope. Enoshima convinced him that despair would be so much more entertaining than his lifestyle, and he fell into despair. Nanami was the class rep of Class 77-B of Hope's Peak. She was killed by Enoshima, plummeting her class into despair. She was recreated as an AI used to help the Remnants of SHSL Despair come out of despair and stop worshipping Enoshima."

 

"Wait, so Hope's Peak experimented on a  _person?_ " Ishimaru asked.

 

"More than that. They shoved Hinata's personality to the back of his mind and replaced a lot of his personality with talent. They created the perfect symbol of hope... but their plan had a single flaw that caused the end of the world." 

 

"Whoa. I never knew..." Oowada trailed off.

 

"That's because the Reserve Course... shut down before we arrived."

 

"Why'd it shut down?" Kuwata asked.

 

"After the Tragedy... Kamukura was blamed for every death of the Student Council. And the Reserve Course protested. And then..."

 

"Then they were gone. Every single one of them." Three pairs of footsteps drew the group's attention to Hinata. "After the protesting didn't work, they committed mass suicide." He said.

 

"Wow..." Yamada breathed.

 

"I may have looked up to Hope's Peak, but... sometimes, admiration can lead to tragedy." He said. He then looked to Ikusaba. 

 

"I apologize, Hinata." She said.

 

"I'm sorry, as well. For everything." He replied.

 

"So, why are we on an island?" 

* * *

"And that's why we're on an island, and why you aren't dead, and why some people aren't here." Naegi concluded. 

 

Hinata nodded, then gasped. "Naegi! Komaeda forgot to ask something!"

 

"What is it?"

 

"Did we take... it out?" He asked.

 

"...I don't think we did..." His eyes widened.

 

"What happened?" Nanami asked. Hinata pulled her off to the side, telling her about the problem. "Oh no... This is bad."

 

"Wait, what?" Usami asked, then received the same treatment from Nanami as she did from Hinata. "Ha-wa-wa! That's a big no-no!"

 

"I know! Which is why it's bad!" Hinata exclaimed.

 

"Wait, Hinata, did you put someone on watch?" Naegi asked.

 

He thought for a moment before nodding. "Probably the worst pair I possibly could've put there... Souda most likely left... But I know someone who definitely didn't!"

 

"Who?"

 

"Well, Komaeda. I really hope this works so I don't look like a maniac." He steeled himself. " _Komaeda! Open the capsule!_ " He shouted to the sky. After a few moments, nothing happened. "Thanks, Komaeda. Now I look like-" He was cut off by his own disappearance.

 

A gasp resounded around the room. "Don't worry, he'll find the thing easily. Then he just has to take it and destroy it, ultimately ending this cycle." Usami reassured.

 

"How are you so sure?" Celes demanded.

 

"Kamukura was the one who put it in there. Hinata can get it out." Nanami said.

 

"If you think so." Oogami said.

 

"I don't think so. I  _know_ he can do it." Naegi stated, a determined look on his face.

 

"Are you sure the kid can do it?" Oowada asked.

 

"Yes. And actually, Oowada, Hinata and Nanami are older than us."

 

"What?"

 

"He said we're older than you." Nanami yawned.

 

"By how much?"

 

"When I died, I was a year older than you. Hinata is a year older than you." 

 

"An entire year... Huh." Kuwata scratched his head. 

* * *

"I have returned." Hinata declared as he stepped out of he capsule. Nidai helped him out of the green casing, Komaeda laughing sheepishly.

 

"I think you forgot something, Hinata-kun. I'm not strong enough to open the capsule." He smiled.

 

"That's why it took so long to actually get you out of there." Nidai chuckled. 

 

"Well, thanks." Hinata said, rushing toward the main control panel. 

 

"Hey, what's got you so panicked?" Nidai asked.

 

"We - Naegi and I - forgot to take out and destroy the Enoshima AI." He reported, finding the chip and throwing it to the ground. He was quick to crush the despair-bringing chip under his shoe, shaking the small pieces off of the sole.

 

"So, what would've happened if you hadn't remembered?" Nidai inquired.

 

"To be honest, Monokuma probably would've come back and made whoever in there - and me - go through mutual killing again." He said.

 

Komaeda winced. "I wouldn't want to go through that again." He shook his head.

 

"None of us would." Nidai agreed. The tallest of the three shook his head, seemingly attempting to clear the memories from his mind. Komaeda also looked troubled.

 

"Well, as long as we're here and together, we have nothing to worry about." Hinata reassured. "I have to go back in and tell them that everything's fine. And to help Naegi and Nanami."

* * *

Kuwata yelped as Hinata materialized in front of him. 

 

"Hi. I fixed it, Naegi. It's now a small pile of dust on the pavement." He reported.

 

"Good. By the way, do you guys want a tour of the island?" Naegi asked. The group agreed, and Naegi and Nanami led the way toward the bridge leading to the first island.

 

Hinata hesitated, mumbling to himself.

 

"Are you okay, Hinata-kun?" A soft voice made him spin on his heel. Usami was at his feet, looking at him with a worried expression. "You look... distressed. What's wrong, Hinata-kun?"

 

He sighed, scratching his head. "I just..." He paused.

 

"Take your time. There's no rush." The bunny reassured. 

 

"I'm just... worried. I guess." He looked unsure.

 

"You seem unsure."

 

"I don't think I used the right words for that."

 

"Um... Is it because of the memories?" Usami asked tentatively.

 

Hinata was silent. 

 

"It's okay. A lot of terrifying things happened here. Nanami-san and I don't blame you for anything." She reassured.

 

He took a deep breath, smiling softly. "Thank you, Usami." He said farewell to the rabbit before running to catch up with Naegi. 

 


	2. Greater Questioning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Okay, I have just one question. Mioda said something about being a 'former student of Class 77-B of HPA'. What's that supposed to mean?"
> 
> In which more introductions happen and more questioning. Questions that some people aren't prepared to answer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's literally no introduction at the beginning of this one. Whoops.
> 
> (Also just gonna say might wanna listen to Welcome Despair School from the point when Hinata and the others arrive at the fourth island. Really... sets the mood, you could say.)

"Naegi Makoto-dono, where were..." Yamada's voice trailed off when the group entered RocketPunch Market. Nanami seemed drawn to a certain side of the store, breaking away from the group almost immediately after entrance.

 

Hinata entered the market behind them, following Nanami. He found her looking through weapons, survival knives and other blades covering the aisle.

 

"What are you looking for?" He asked.

 

"The package. It's still here... I think." She said, looking through the survival knives.

 

"Well, don't you think it shouldn't be here?" 

 

"Exactly. I saw it once after the... field trip, and I want to see if it's gone now that the AI is gone."

 

"Okay, then." He shrugged, helping her look. "Wasn't it right... Here?" He took one of the packages off of the hook, the contents of the package missing. "Should we take it to Naegi?" She nodded. The two found the short luckster with Maizono, Ikusaba, and Kuwata. "Naegi."

 

"Do you remember the first trial?" He nodded, and Nanami continued. "Do you remember what the original weapon was?"

 

"A survival knife, stolen from here, right?"

 

"Yes. And..." Hinata held out the empty package. "Looks like the package is still here." 

 

"That's concerning." He commented. 

 

"Uh... Naegi?" Kuwata started. "What are you three talking about?"

 

"The first trial. There was a party thrown due to Togami getting an anonymous letter from someone. They took this knife and taped it under a table in the venue, then plugged in three irons in the storage room and set the air conditioning to come on at a certain time. When it did, the power went out.

 

"They took action, grabbing the knife that they had painted with glowing paint. However, two people knew of their plan. One was Togami, who dove under the table and the culprit took a blow to the face, rolling out from under the table. Another, trying to kill them from under the floorboards, accidentally killed Togami instead. And so, the game began." Nanami recalled.

 

"So, who wrote the letter? Who was the killer?" 

 

"The one who set it up was Komaeda Nagito, who went insane halfway through the trial. The killer was Hanamura Teruteru, who went kinda insane near the end." Hinata said.

 

"So, what happened to Komaeda afterwards?" Maizono asked. 

 

Hinata steeled himself. "Okay, I got this. He was tied up until the second investigation, then half-helped in the trial, then was infected by the Liar Disease of the Despair Disease, then collapsed and was frothing from his mouth, then was cured after the investigation began. Then, we got trapped in a funhouse with no food, doing Monokuma Tai Chi for everyday at 7 o'clock, and eventually, someone died.

 

"Komaeda went to the Final Dead Room, played the Life-Threatening Game, entered the octagon, obtained the Ultimate Weapon, and found some files that had some pretty interesting stuff in it. 

 

"Then, he started mocking everyone, his patience seemingly gone. Once we were out of the funhouse, he created the next motive himself, threatening to blow up the entire island. We found the 'bomb', and he had given us a video message saying that we should go to the warehouse next door.

 

"We did, and the door was stuck. Owari kicked it open, and there was a few seconds of darkness and a loud track playing from a music player, and the room went up in flames. We grabbed bottles of fire grenades from the Monokuma factory, and threw them into the fire. When the fire went out, we pulled back a curtain in the back of the room to see that Komaeda had been tortured to death." 

 

Hinata finished the explanation of everything, breathing heavily due to his quick speaking. By now, everyone had gathered, and Hinata knew that Komaeda was surely watching.

 

"Who killed him?" Was the only question. 

 

"Technically, it was two people. Himself, and myself." Nanami said.

 

"Huh?" Kuwata said loudly. "How does that...?"

 

"He relied on his luck and filled one of the grenades with poison, hoping that the 'traitor' would throw it, therefore killing him with the poison. And that's what happened. His trial revealed that he wanted the traitor to kill him, and that they did." Hinata explained.

 

"And who was the traitor again?"

 

"It was me." Nanami said. 

 

"Why were you called the traitor?"

 

"Because I was working for Future Foundation. Or, as Hinata-kun and the others knew them at the time, World Ender." 

 

"World Ender? As in, Naegi-kun and the others would bring about the world's end?" Celes asked.

 

" _That only really applied to us at the time..._ " Hinata muttered.

 

"'Only applied to you?' What do you mean?" Maizono asked.

 

" _What is with musicians and having better hearing?_ " He asked aloud. He only earned a shrug from Nanami.

 

"Hey! Come back at once, Mioda-san!" A regal-sounding voice cut through the air. 

 

A very familiar-looking girl ran into the market and ducked behind Hinata. "Hajime-chan, Sonia-chan is chasing me!" Mioda cried.

 

"Wait, Mioda?! Why are you even here?!" He exclaimed.

 

The blonde who was chasing the musician barged into the room, looking around as she stepped in. "Hinata-san, where did Mioda-san run off to?" She asked sweetly.

 

Hinata pointed to himself. "She's hiding." Sonia crept around the room until she was behind Hinata, grabbing Mioda's shoulders from behind. 

 

The girl yelped, half-flailing in a useless attempt to be freed from the sure grip of the princess. "Sonia-chan! What gives?" She whined.

 

"Just because I wasn't looking for one second doesn't mean you can just run off like that!" Sonia scolded.

 

"Sonia-san, what happened?" Naegi asked.

 

"Tanaka-san and I took our eyes off of her for one second, and she ran off." She reported.

 

"Yep, that sounds like Mioda-san." Nanami nodded. "I think."

 

Sonia released her grip on the musician and gasped. "Nanami-san?" Mioda smiled brightly.

 

"Chiaki-chan!" The musician quickly embraced the girl, followed by Sonia. 

 

"Hi, you guys." Nanami greeted. "Naegi-kun, should there be more introductions?" She asked.

 

"Sure. Don't see why not." He shrugged. "Do you want to introduce yourselves, or...?"

 

"I shall introduce myself." The blonde cleared her throat. "I am Sonia Nevermind, former SHSL Princess and former resident of the small kingdom of Novoselic." She curtsied, and Mioda soon took her place.

 

"Mioda Ibuki, former SHSL Light Musician! Nice to meet ya!" Smiling brightly, she added, "And former student of Class 77-B of HPA." 

 

Introductions from the other group revealed that Mioda and Maizono would probably get along, and that Sonia and Celes were already getting along. 

 

"Wait, who was watching the room when you two got here?" Hinata asked.

 

"I don't seem to remember clearly..." Sonia trailed off.

 

"I know! I know! Nekomaru-chan was watching the screen, but Akane-chan distracted him!" Mioda exclaimed.

 

"Okay, I have just one question. Mioda said something about being a 'former student of Class 77-B of HPA'. What's that supposed to mean?" Kuwata asked.

 

"Well..." Sonia paused for a minute. "Naegi-san, Mioda-san and I shall go with Hinata-san and Nanami-san to go to another island! We wish you all well! Goodbye!" She quickly grabbed her friends' wrists and dragged them out of the market.

 

Suddenly, Naegi found himself in the middle of his former classmates, nine pairs of eyes waiting for his answer to Kuwata's question.

 

_Thanks, Sonia-san..._

* * *

Sonia didn't let go of her friends until they had arrived in front of Nezumi Castle. 

 

"I am glad we managed to escape that situation..." She panted. The three nodded in agreement.

 

"Naegi might be half-panicking." Hinata remarked.

 

"Makoto-chan can do it. Hasn't he done it before?" Mioda asked.

 

"I think so." Nanami said. 

 

Sonia sighed, looking around. Her friends didn't seem to be disoriented in any way.  _Good. For a moment, I was afraid they wouldn't keep up._

 

Mioda was the first to speak. "So, why did we leave again?"

 

Sonia didn't have an answer. Looking around, it seemed as if Hinata and Nanami felt the same way. The former was looking around, purposefully avoiding Mioda's gaze, the latter simply looking at her feet.

 

"I..." She started. "I... I am not sure..." She admitted.

 

"...Maybe because of everything that happened back then? Because we shouldn't be the ones to tell them that Hope's Peak is gone? Because we don't want to think about Hope's Peak?" Hinata quietly spouted questions. 

 

_Because we shouldn't be the ones to tell them that their loved ones are dead? That the world has ended? That we are still classified as... Despair?_  Although the questions were asked, internally and externally, none were answered. Sonia couldn't help but look toward the camera above Hinata's head, knowing that whoever was behind it was asking the same questions. 

 

The four spent about five minutes standing around in silence, seeming like an eternity. 

 

Then, a voice broke the silence. "Sonia-san! Hinata-kun! Mioda-san! Nanami-san!" Sonia looked up to see Naegi leading part of his former classmates toward the castle entrance.

 

"Hey... Are you all okay?" He asked.

 

_It would make sense for Naegi-san to come check on us._ Sonia thought, attempting to reassure herself.

 

"We are... okay." She responded quietly. Quieter than she meant to. Weaker than she meant to.

 

"Hey..." Sonia glanced up to see Naegi standing in the middle of the four of them. "It's okay. They... They know now."

 

Hinata sighed, then chuckled hollowly. "How am I supposed to be reassured by only that, Naegi?" He looked up. A sad smile had plastered itself onto his face. "After all, there are only four out of nine people with you. How can you tell us that everything is okay if over half of them aren't here?"

 

"I..." Naegi seemed to be at a loss.

 

"He does have a point, Naegi-san." Sonia remarked.

 

"Where are they, Makoto-chan?" Mioda asked, face solemn.

 

Naegi was silent. Sonia could feel her eyes water. "Why can't you tell us, Naegi-san?" She asked.

 

"I..." Naegi's hand trembled.

 

"Excuse me. But... Naegi-kun, I do believe what you said, but... How did they react? How much did you tell them?" Nanami questioned in almost a whisper.

 

"I told them everything. About Hope's Peak, about what happened, the killing games, the island... Even about SHSL Despair." He admitted weakly.

 

There was silence for a few moments. Sonia could feel the tears building a wall between her eyelashes, threatening to fall at any given moment.

 

"Naegi-kun." Maizono stepped forward. "We should leave them. Let's go get our classmates, and come back later." Naegi nodded, following the blue-haired girl. Soon enough, they were gone.

 

Sonia felt the large tears leave tracks down her face before she realized she was crying.  _What did they say? What will they think of us now? Will they hate us? What are we going to do?_

 

She looked around to see Hinata leaning into the wooden post closest to him just the slightest bit more, Mioda fidgeting, playing with her hair, and Nanami looking around, concerned.

 

_They know now. But at what cost?_

* * *

 "Naegi, what did they say?" Oogami asked when the group returned. 

 

"They... They don't trust what I said, I think." Naegi admitted.

 

"What? Didn't trust you?" Oowada asked.

 

"They seem to be convinced that because you five did not accompany us, you all did not have... positive reactions." Celes explained.

 

"They weren't acting... like themselves." Fujisaki added.

 

 

 

"Well, that's to be expected." Oogami commented. "After all, they did just learn that we know about them being SHSL Despair."

 

" _Former_ SHSL Despair, if you will." Naegi spun on his heel to see Sonia standing at the entrance to the market. "I may not be the SHSL Princess anymore, but that does not mean that I am SHSL Despair." She stated firmly. "It simply means that I am not a student of Hope's Peak Academy. And at this point in time, I would not attend classes there for anything." She added. 

 

"Even if our talents are still our talents, it doesn't mean we have to accept any titles." Another figure approached next to Sonia. Hinata's red eye pierced through Naegi's green. "We can be whatever when we create our own future." 

 

"Especially because all of our friends are awake." Mioda piped up.

 

"If we work hard enough, we can overcome the despair that has taken over the world." Sonia added.

 

"That's the spirit." Oogami smiled.

 

Ikusaba stepped forward. "If possible, I will assist you in any way I can." 

 

Hinata smiled. "Thank you, Ikusaba." 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I messed up Mioda's introduction, but meh, I have no regrets.
> 
> Also I'm not going to write 15+ introductions for every time a new character appears. I REFUSE.
> 
> (I will admit. I almost cried there.)  
> (And Ikusaba may or may not be slightly ooc. I only really saw her as herself in DR IF, as I haven't read DR0.)

**Author's Note:**

> Okay some characters may be a little out of character but that's because I haven't written these character traits in a while.
> 
> But either way, I hope that if you made it this far, you enjoyed it! Thanks for reading!


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